From Monday, 17 January to Thursday, 20 January 2011, the European
Parliament will hold its plenary session in Strasbourg. Among the
topics on the agenda : the conclusions of the European Council meeting
on 16-17 December, the review of the Belgian Presidency, Haiti's
reconstruction one year after the earthquake, presentation of the
Hungarian Presidency's programme of activities etc.

The States
General of Europe (EGE) has offered a forum for European citizens, opened to
the public on the subject of Europe, its
challenges and future. A program of cultural, sporting and fun activities to
complement the 18 panels and workshops that provides an opportunity for all
generations to speak. They are organized at the initiative of an independent
civil society with a pluralistic and participatory approach.

The plenary
session of the European Parliament will be held in Strasbourg from March 8th to March 11th. The
agenda for this session will include: debates on the general bodies of the
European Union as well as on the Common Legislative and Work Program for 2010,
questions for the President of the European Commission and a debate and vote on
breaches of human rights, democracy and rule of law as well as other issues.

The plenary session of the European Parliament will be held in
Strasbourg from March 8th to March 11th. The agenda for this session
will include: consumer protection, long-stay visas, competition policy,
the mobilization of the European Globalization Adjustment, the Common
Foreign and Security Policy as well as other issues.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

The Parliamentary Assembly is one of the Council of Europe’s two main
statutory bodies and represents the main political tendencies in its
member states. The Assembly sees itself as the driving force in
extending European co-operation to all democratic states throughout
Europe.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

The Cathedral of Strasbourg is illuminated every evening to celebrate the 60th birthday of the Council of Europe. Every evening from July, the 12th till August, the 23rd, come and assist to a show of sounds and lights.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

The Parliamentary Assembly is one of the Council of Europe’s two main
statutory bodies and represents the main political tendencies in its
member states. The Assembly sees itself as the driving force in
extending European co-operation to all democratic states throughout
Europe.

Pierre Tubach, a self-proclaimed European, by birth and reason, was born early enough to witness the armed conflicts and their devastating effects on the European continent, but late enough to observe and appreciate the remedies to these effects.

For its 60th anniversary, the Council of Europe has created a site dedicated to its 60 years of history. To retrace the history or understand the functioning and structure of the institution, simply visit “60 Years of History”

The year 2009
is a milestone year for Europe, marking
several anniversaries of European institutions including the 60th anniversary
of the Council of Europe, the 50th of the European Court of Human
Rights, the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
International Convention of Children’s Rights. It is in this perspective that
Europe Day: Celebrate Europe, will be held for 15 days in Strasbourg. Residents of the city and urban
community as well as the Strasbourg
Euro-District are invited to participate
in the many diverse activities.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

Each year, around Europe Day (May 9), the European Parliament opens its doors to the public. Numerous parliamentary political groups as well as non-partisan groups will have information stands assembled, offering a wide array of information on the Parliament and the upcoming European elections. Come and discover the European Parliament May 3, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Parliamentary Assembly is one of the Council of Europe’s two main
statutory bodies and represents the main political tendencies in its
member states. The Assembly sees itself as the driving force in
extending European co-operation to all democratic states throughout
Europe.

The 50th anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights is celebrated this year through a series of initiatives, one of which is the creation of a internet site devoted to the 50 years of the Court. The launching of the site corresponds to the formal inauguration of the Court on April 20, 1959.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

For the March plenary session of the European Parliament, deputies will convene in Strasbourg to discuss several critical issues, among them including the midterm assessment of the 2007-2013 fiscal term, European food prices, political cohesion of the EU, customs exemptions within the European Community, the enforcement of security and fundamental liberties online, as well as multilingualism.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

The Robert Schuman Foundation, in recognition of International Women’s Day, collected and compiled statistics on the gender parity in European government(s).In the twenty-seven national governments, on average, one out of four ministers is female (twenty-five percent). Finland leads the way with over fifty percent of its national government comprised of female ministers. Sweden and the Netherlands also have a strong female presence, with over forty percent representation. France, however, is under the European average with 18.5 percent female representation.

This plenary session of the European Parliament will be center largely around the current global economic financial crisis, in particular stimulating the EU economy and repairing its financial markets. Other agenda includes preparation for the approaching European Council, March 19-20; decreasing industrial emissions; the accession negotiations of Croatia, Turkey, and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; as well as strategies to develop a more transparent EU.March 9, Simone Veil, former President of the European Parliament will speak in honor of International Women's Day as well as the 30th anniversary of the first European parliamentary, universal suffrage elections.

This week's plenary session of the Congress of Local & Regional Powers will hear several debates, on a wide arrange of topics. Topics to be discussed include, Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, public water and sewer services for sustainable development, domestic violence, as well as democratic issues in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Thursday, the Congress will hold a debate on the continuing international economic crisis and its consequences on territorial Europe.

In June 2009, 375 million constituents, of 27 member states will partake in the European parliamentary elections. Citizens will be voting for the 736 parliamentary deputies that will represent close to 500 million Europeans. For more information on the upcoming elections please visit the European Parliament web page.

The Parliamentary Assembly is one of the Council of Europe’s two main
statutory bodies and represents the main political tendencies in its
member states. The Assembly sees itself as the driving force in
extending European co-operation to all democratic states throughout
Europe.

The plenary session of the European Parliament is where the Parliament
formally sits to vote on EU legislation and adopt its position on
political issues. The plenary sessions take place 12 times a year in
Strasbourg and there are also 6 mini-plenary sessions held in Brussels.

December 1 to 3 the autumn session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe will take place in Strasbourg. The Congress is a political assembly composed of representatives holding an electoral mandate as members of a local or regional authority in one of the member states. Its 318 full members and 318 substitute members represent over 200 000 European municipalities and regions.

September 29 to October 3, 2008 the fourth session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will take place in Strasbourg. The parliamentarians who make up PACE come from the national parliaments of the Organisation's 47 member states. They meet four times a year to discuss topical issues and ask European governments to take initiatives and report back...

This action proposal for the European Union was selected by an internet-based vote in May and June 2008 on all the proposals made by Alsatian high school students during the project: “Europe blog: Europe for and by high schools students”. This proposal was translated into all 23 official languages of the European Union and is now turned into an online petition which all European citizens can support.

On the 1st of July, France will take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months. On the agenda, four main priorities : sustainable development and energy, immigration, defence and common agricultural policy.

On the agenda of the Plenary session of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg on 19 and 22 May: Climate change, prohibition of mercury exports from 2011, protection of the environment through criminal law, road transport, maritime policy, Common Agricultural Policy, animal health, equal-opportunities and non-discrimination, employment guidelines, consumer protection strategy, sustainable development and SME... MEPs will also vote on the dates of the Strasbourg and Brussels plenary sessions for 2009. Relating to international affairs, the European Parliament will debate on reform progress in Turkey, aid transport to Myanmar, the earthquake in China, rising food prices and development aid.

From 21 to 24 April, the European Parliament pleanry session took place in Strasbourg. These are the principal subjects the European deputies discussed about: question of the world food crisis, actions on the European level in the range of organ donation and transplantation, China’s policy in Africa, reinfocement of the statute of the European Ombudsman, sourcing of the European satellite navigation system Galileo...During this session the European deputies also received the Slovenian President Danilo Türk who adressed the European parliamentaries on Wednesday.

Bernard Kouchner, France’s Foreign Minister and Minister for European Affairs, has been received by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Thursday, 17 April, on the occasion of the second Plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly. He made a speech on Human rights, peace and Europe.

The Parliamentary Assembly is one of the Council of Europe’s two main statutory bodies and represents the main political tendencies in its member states. The Assembly sees itself as the driving force in extending European co-operation to all democratic states throughout Europe.

From 10 to 13 March, the European Parliament met for the third time this year in Strasbourg. A highlight of this session has been the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly in the Alsatian capital on 19 March 1958.

During this Plenary session, the European deputies also held a debate with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on the Spring Summit of the European Council in Brussels on 13 and 14 March. They honoured the victims of Eufor in Darfur. The Parliament applied once again for the liberation of Ingrid Betancourt. Concerning every day life, the Parliament adopted a new regulation that aims to ensure a high level of aviation security throughout the EU and deals with in-flight-security measures, such as the deployment of “sky marshals”.

On 13 March 2008, the Council of Europe’s new building was voted Best Office Building in the World by a panel of professionals at the property industry's Annual Convention in Cannes. The Architects responsible for the building are Art + Build (Brussels), who worked in partnership with Denu + Paradon (Strasbourg).

The building - baptized AGORA after a vote of the agents of the Council of Europe was inaugurated on Tuesday, 17 April 2008, by Bernard Kouchner, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

For the first time, the European Parliament will give a prize to journalists. There will be four different categories: written press, television, radio and internet and the prize will be given to journalists who have dealt with major issues of European politics and have contributed in this way to a better communication between the citizens and the European institutions.

Jan Figel, Member of the European Commission for Education, Training, Culture and Youth met two classes that participate in the project "l'Europe en blog : l'Europe pour et par les lycéens" (Europe for and by the pupils).

On 19 March 1958, the 142 deputies of the newly constituted European Parliamentary Assembly met for the first time in Strasbourg.In its 50 years of existence, the power of this assembly, which decides in 1963 to become the European Parliament, have grown continuously. In its origins the Parliament has been a simple consultative body and today it participates fully in the adoption of European legislation. Its 785 deputies meet one time a month in the Plenary session in Strasbourg, official chair of the Parliament.

Most important agenda idems of the February session:- Presentation of several reports with the objective of adopting a common framework for the commercialisation of products,- Debates on the future of Europe with the participation of the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, member of the European Council,- Presentation of the report of Íñigo Méndez de Vigo and Richard Corbett about the Lisbon Treaty,- Presentation of the report of Françoise Castex about the demographic future of Europe ("L'avenir démographique de l'Europe "),- Solemn session: speech of John Agyekum Kufuor (photo European Commission), President of Ghana and President of the Council of the African League.Find here the agenda of the next plenary session

At the long-awaited signing of the new EU treaty, leaders from each of
the 27 member countries put pen to treaty paper in a clear show of
their willingness to take Europe into the 21st century. Fittingly, the
ceremony took place in the ornate Jeronimo monastery in Lisbon.

José Manuel Barroso, Commission President, Hans-Gert Pöttering,
European Parliament President and José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime
Minister and President-in-office of the EU Council, signed the Charter
of Fundamental Rights at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Salih Mahmoud Osman is this year's winner of the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought.The €50,000 Sakharov prize has been presented in a
ceremony on 11 December in Strasbourg, during the Parliament's plenary
session.

Photo of the month

European diary

The United Nations calls on its member states, specialized agencies, and other international and regional organizations, and civil society as well, to be part of the International Day of Charity, and to encourage charity by raising awareness through educational activities.